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This was actually my second time here. I attended an annual pig roast right by Lake Quinault and couldn’t miss visiting the largest Spruce tree in the world. This tree is right in the Olympic National Park with a circumference of 59 ft., diameter of 18 ft. 9 inches, and it stands at 191 feet tall. Wow, it’s massive and I’m proud to have it in my home state of Washington.

Monday’s are like Friday’s here at Dog Trots. Every day is full of canine smiles and the sound of four running paws hitting the earth. Maybe it’s just the relationship that Kemper and I have together, but I can’t help but to feel like all is right-in-the-world, at this moment, when I’m greeted like this.

We read that Sports Illustrated featured its very first plus-size model (that’s normal size in our eyes) in the Swimsuit issue this year; Asia would like to audition to be their very first dog model for next year.

I mean, really, how can they forget man’s best friend. (All those neck-lengthening tips from Tyra Banks really paid off).

I like that my birthday is in the Fall and that a dramatic Oregon beach is just a short drive down Hwy. 101. Coastal weather in November can bring muted sunsets where you can’t tell the difference between the sky and the water. At night, you can feel the strength of the oceans power purely by the sound alone. It was exactly what I wanted.

I spent my weekend at a small Washington lake that I had never heard of before. It was a perfect opportunity to see if Asia would have the courage to fetch for the ball off the dock. As you can see from the photo, it wasn’t graceful and half way in I’m pretty sure she wanted to turn back around. She didn’t exactly jump but slipped in head first and was completely submerged. Her head popped right up, she shook her ears then went straight for the ball. That’s my girl!

I woke up this past Saturday morning with my truck adorned with snowflakes. Like stickers pressed up against the black paint, only temporary.

Someone opened up their home to me without meeting me first. Doesn’t that exceed a deal with only a handshake?

A Mason Jar of homemade peaches awaited my arrival on the kitchen table that he had made himself. He left me cross country trail maps, handwritten notes of local restaurants and the best coffee shop to visit.

My motivation for this mini getaway was to cross country ski on some of the best trails in the U.S. but my most favorite moments didn’t involve skis at all. It was hearing the owls in the nearby trees while I was photographing the stars late at night. It was feeding the hens and holding their freshly laid eggs in the palm of my hand. It was having a cat kneed on my lap like he had known me for years and looking through a television screen in a window framing the best view. Now that’s good T.V.

You wonder, what could possibly beat the rolling hills and the mountains dusted with powdered sugar in the Methow Valley? The people.